2 Chicago Heights Schools Sign Future Farmers Of America Chapter

CHICAGO HEIGHTS, IL — A middle school within Chicago Heights School District No. 163 welcomed an agricultural program into its curriculum last week, according to a news release from school officials.

The Barack Obama School of Leadership and STEM now hosts a Future Farmers of America chapter, which aims to teach students the intricacies of agriculture and growing food.

The 4th and 5th graders at the school will be the first students to participate in this type of program within the Chicagoland area, officials said at a ceremony to sign the charter for the new club last week.

Members of the Illinois Association of Future Farmers of America and Illinois Rep. Will Davis attended the event. There, FFA leaders held a goal-setting workshop for students, the first step in leadership development training that accompanies the program.

There was also a salad at the event made entirely from vegetables grown and harvested by FFA students.

High school students from Rich Township High School also signed an official Future Farmers of American charter following District No. 163. There, students were presented with the well-known blue FFA jackets.